1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wireless communications. Particularly, the present invention relates to Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) enabled devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
The capability of wireless telephones is rapidly increasing. Wireless telephones now have the ability to access the Internet using a microbrowser that is part of the telephone. The microbrowser is a very simple version of personal computer browsers such as MICROSOFT's INTERNET EXPLORER and NETSCAPE's NETSCAPE COMMUNICATOR.
This mobile Internet browsing capability is in the process of being standardized through a Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) forum that is setting the rules for communicating in a wireless manner with the Internet and the World Wide Web. A language designed for this type of communication is the wireless markup language (WML). This language is a simplified version of the Web language, hypertext markup language (HTML). An XML application, WML was designed for wireless communication devices with small, low-resolution screens that are prevalent on cellular telephones.
Prepaid cellular calling accounts are used by consumers who do not want to enter long-term contracts with service providers or who have bad credit and cannot qualify for a postpaid service account. Generally, the consumer pays an up-front amount to open the account and receives a predetermined amount of airtime.
The consumer prefers to track the amount of time remaining in his account. If the account is depleted while the consumer is on a call, the call in progress may be cut-off or the consumer's account may be hit with additional charges for going over the prepaid limit. There is a resulting unforeseen need for a process to recharge a prepaid cellular account.